A Social Experiment
by Blood-Sucker-1428
Summary: Mycroft hated group assignments and partner work more than anything. Either there were too many people in a friend group and one or two of them would be come to him begrudgingly or someone would decide that they could get an easy high grade by letting Mycroft do the work. They had decided on their own and were sending forth their sacrifice. It was the new girl. Mythea one shot.
1. Endothermic and Exothermic

**Author's Note:** **Hey guys! I write a fair amount of Mythea so naturally now I have some free time on my hands I asked people on Tumblr if they wanted anything. MJ, as well as people before them, asked for a teenager/school meeting. MJ also suggested that they be the same age. So here it is! I think I got a decent idea together and I think it works for the characters… Also Alice is just the name I use for Anthea now. It's like that in 99% of my stuff. I have OCD, it's incredibly hard for me to change habits! Haha. Please read, review, and most importantly; enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer:** **Clearly I don't own Sherlock. The show is the baby of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, while Sherlock Holmes itself is the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle.**

* * *

 **A Social Experiment – by Blood-Sucker-1428**

Mycroft hated group assignments and partner work more than anything. Being forced to socialise with his fellow students was worse than stabbing yourself in the eye with one of those blunt scalpels used in class for dissections. It didn't matter how many extension class or gifted groups they put him in, all the other kids were always the same. Unfortunately for Mycroft, chemistry contain an infinite amount of experiments and projects that required socialising with at least one other student. Like now. Mycroft did what he always did in these situations. He sat lazily at his desk and waited. He waited for the other students to work it out by themselves and eventually someone would approach him. Generally one of two things happened. Either there were too many people in a friend group and one or two of them would be left out and come to him begrudgingly or someone would decide that they could get an easy high grade by letting Mycroft do all the work. In both situations they'd interact as little as possible, Mycroft would throw something together, and they'd do well. It at least made him liked enough by his fellow peers that he was never hassled. He was tolerate and he had a feeling his brother wouldn't be so lucky. Sherlock wasn't as good at playing nice or striking up a deal.

Ah, there. See. The villagers had decided on their own and were sending forth their sacrifice. It was the new girl. He says new girl as if she hadn't come at the beginning of the year, as if she didn't sit in front of him in literature where he'd sometimes zone out and watch as her dark curls danced on the back of the chair as she moved and laughed with her new friend. She came up to the desk and place her book bag on top of the desk next to Mycroft. He watched silently.

"Hi Mycroft." She smiled politely. He would have been surprised that she even knew his name if not for the fact that one of the other boys in her friend group hadn't recently started deciding that he was 'alright'. It was the end of last year when they still made all the kids in that year do physical education. Mycroft and this blonde boy came to a deal. James would help Mycroft get a passing grade in PE and Mycroft would help him pass English. It worked out well and had eliminated quite a number of issues that had been beginning to for with all the idiot sports scholarship kids. "Do you want to be partners?" The new girl asked. No doubt there had been an uneven amount of friends in her little group and her being the newest was the sacrificial lamb. Mycroft sighed heavily and shrugged.

"I see no issue." He answered. Her brow furrowed but her grin grew. She was thinking he was weird – he could tell.

"Okay, cool." She laughed. The new girl plonked herself down in the seat next to Mycroft. "This is my seat for the rest of the term, then." He faked a smile to appease her and hopefully stop any more conversation for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

"So…" The new girl chewed on the top of her pen, looking up thoughtfully at the dirty ceiling. "I was thinking last night," Mycroft stared at his note book, trying not to look at how the chocolate curls gathered around her neck. "Why don't we do something about different cool endothermic and exothermic reactions?" Mycroft looked up in time to see her smiling at him again, crinkling her nose up playfully, creating little creases around her nose. "That might be kind of fun." Mycroft took a deep breath and turned back to his book.

"Let me tell you how this works." He hummed, repeating the same old bored lines. "You're here because your friends didn't want you or because you want an easy grade. You don't need to try and pretend to contribute. I'm quite capable at writing in another's voice if you give me an example of your English work. I'll do all the work. You don't need to pretend to care." He waited for the usual expression of relief or gratitude.

"What?" Mycroft was surprised to hear the girl next to him scoff. He looked over and all traces of the naughty smile were gone. She was looking at him like he was weird again, but not in the good way. "I want to do my own work, thanks."

"No you don't." Mycroft rolled his blue eyes. "No one ever does."

"Don't speak for me." She shut him down. She looked him up and down, an eyebrow quirked in disgust. "I chose to work with you because you're good." She nodded. "And I don't want to carry a group so why would I let you carry us?" She rolled her dark eyes this time. "And maybe I thought you seemed kind of cool in English. Maybe I mistook jerk for funny." Mycroft blinked. He'd lost his voice and was struggling to find something to say.

"You expect me to believe that?" He eventually spat out, smiling sarcastically. She rolled her eyes again like a typical teenager.

"Stop acting like you know me. I've been here half a year. Do you even know my name?" She cocked her head to the side after challenging him. Shit. He had never bothered to learn it. He hadn't even seen it written down before. Mycroft tried to search his memories for all those times in English that he was not paying attention and the teacher called upon another student. Mycroft pursed his lips.

"Anthea…" He could pull that 'A' out. He knew it started with an A. "Or Andrea." The way her face filled with a tired expression told him he got it wrong instantly.

"It's Alice, actually."

They said nothing else to each other for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

"Endothermic and exothermic, then." Mycroft muttered to the chair in front of him later that day. Alice whipped her head around and twisted her body so she could see him.

"Oh." She peeped. "Am I worthy of your attention now?" Mycroft gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to scowl out of both annoyance at himself for apparently failing yet another social grace and at her for teasing him.

"If you want to do endothermic and exothermic than we can do that." He was aware that he sounded like he was talking down to her. She seemed to let it slide as her expression softened. She nodded at him.

"Good." She put on a fake polite smile. "Maybe we can actually start on it tomorrow instead of not speaking."

"It would be beneficial if either of us expects to pass."

A pause.

Something flickered in her eyes and she sniffed as her lips pulled upwards. She turned back to her desk leaving Mycroft with the view of chocolate curls once more.

 _Did she really think he was funny?_

* * *

There was a shift in the dynamics between Mycroft and Alice from then on. They worked efficiently in class and completed their research far quicker than another other group or pair. At first they only talked when necessary for the sake of the assignment. Then he muttered a sarcastic comment at a rather idiotic question another student asked the teacher and Alice fell into a fit of giggles. From that moment on they'd always make such comments to each other in science. Then it began to invade English. When something stupid happened Mycroft would look up and Alice would turn around in her chair to look at him and they'd share a look. Then… Well… Actual conversations happened.

* * *

"Hey Myc!" Alice peeped cheerfully as Mycroft walked up to their desk in science. He dramatically clutched his heart and dropped the bag to the floor.

"For the love of God, do not call me that." He scoffed, running a hand through his hair. Alice's naughty smile appeared on her lips.

"Why?" She laughed. "Don't like it?" Mycroft sneered.

"It's so common." He sat down in his seat. "And boring. Even my family calls me that. If they wanted me to have such a common name why didn't they just name me Michael?" He finished his rant. Alice crinkled her nose.

"Do you want me to call you Michael?" She asked teasingly.

"That depends." Mycroft's tone oozed with venom. "Do you want to be murdered?" Alice laughed, looking away and tucking a curl behind her ear.

"So umm…" Alice's hands busied themselves with the zipper on her pencil case. "Where were you last week?" Mycroft pursed his lips.

"Private tutoring last week. Work that actually extends my learning." He explained, leaving out that Mummy was his tutor. Alice mimed an 'oh' and nodded but she didn't look at him. "I made sure to do my fair share of the assignment while away."

"Oh, no. That's not it." Alice pouted. "I, um. Just missed you."

"Oh."

Silence.

Alice tapped on the desk.

"Is that okay, Mycie?"

"Dear God, stop!"

She laughed again.

* * *

Mycroft was stopped walking to his desk in English by Alice nodding at him to get his attention. He stopped in front of her desk. She wore half her hair tied back today and the remainder played nicely around her neck.

"So my friend is away today…" Alice noted as if it should be important in anyway. Mycroft furrowed his brows and nodded. "If you think you could stand it, you can sit next to me today." She finished the thought.

Oh.

She wanted his company outside of science? That was surprised and… not entirely unwanted. Mycroft looked past Alice to his desk.

"I suppose it won't kill me." He sighed. He walked around and took a seat next to Alice. The teacher noticed but made no point to mention it.

* * *

The assignment was done and they got the 'A' that neither of them needed but wanted. There was no reason to keep up the charade anymore. Alice could go sit in the middle of the class with her friends again instead of sitting up the front with him. Life could return back to normal.

Yet here she came. The dark haired, quietly funny girl. She took the seat next to Mycroft as if it was nothing. It was like she didn't realise she could go back to her friends now. Mycroft watched her as she unpacked her pencil case and her books almost dumbfounded. Alice was a smart, funny, very likeable girl. She could sit anywhere and charm anyone into being her friend. She didn't need to be here. He couldn't understand. Then she caught him watching and she froze, her hand still in her bag.

"Is…" She blinked. "Is there a problem." Mycroft swallowed his breath and shook his head.

"No." He almost stumbled over a one syllable word – the fool. "There's no problem." Alice went back to unpacking and Mycroft mental screamed at himself for not being more subtle. Alice finally pulled out an old paperback book. The cover was peeling and pages looked like they might be coming away from the spine.

"I went shopping with friends in the city over the weekend…" Alice sounded unsure as she held the book in her hands. "And I found this in a second hand bookstore and I thought you might like it." Nervously she handed over the tattered book. _Intelligent Life in the Universe_ by Carl Sagan and Iosif Shklovsky. Mycroft pursed his lips, quite impressed and… something else he couldn't put a finger on.

"This is outstanding." He breathed. "Thank you, Alice."

"Hey!" Alice laughed. "You know my name now!" She was joking to hide her shyness. It was written all over her face with the slight pinkish tinge.

"Mummy." Mycroft cleared his through. " _My mother_ will absolutely want to read this after me if she hasn't already." Alice's grin grew.

"I'm really glad you like it."

He wished he had something for her.

* * *

"Alice." Mycroft called out to the brunette girl as she walked through the school. The morning bell had yet to go and she was approaching her group of friends. She turned around, surprised, and smiled warmly at the awkward genius.

"Hey Mycroft!" She sung. Mycroft awkwardly handed over the book in his hands. Alice softly chuckled at his disposition and took the book gingerly. It was a book of poems by Lord Byron.

"My father, he knows his literature…" Mycroft winced at himself as he tried to explain. "He suggested you might like this." Alice's face fell into an expression that could only be described as the epitome of warmth as she brought the book to her chest.

"You asked you dad?" She crinkled her nose. Mycroft rolled his eyes.

"Yes well, I'm not exactly the most practiced socialiser and gift reciprocation is not something I do outside of the family." He muttered a little bitterly. Alice looked like she might laugh at any second. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Oh.

 _Oh._

Mycroft's cheek burst with heat that eventually moved across his face and enveloped his whole body. The site of the kiss was tingling with kinetic energy.

"Thank you, Mycroft." Her voice was light and airy.

"You are very welcome…"

 _Did she actually like him?_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **Did you like it? Please let me know by reviewing. I hope that making them teenagers didn't make them incredibly out of character. There's always that worry when making them younger. Thank you so much for spending some of your time reading this! I really hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you think of it! Thanks!**


	2. Kinetic Energy

**Author's Note:** **So I got thinking the other day about how people have been asking me to continue this with at least one more chapter and I realised how much I liked it. I thought about how much potential it had to be a small series. I wouldn't update it often but I thought whenever I have the time and an idea that works well as the following chapter came to mind I could write one. So please read it and let me know what you think of this chapter and how it fits with the original. Please read, review, and enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer:** **Clearly I don't own Sherlock. The show is the baby of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, while Sherlock Holmes itself is the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle.**

* * *

Mycroft was reeling from that kiss all day. His cheek tingled incessantly. No words would form out of his mouth, no thoughts would coherently connect in his mind. He dropped things and stuttered all days. He certainly couldn't look at Alice at all. He spent all of English looking down at his page so he wouldn't have to see the back of her head. He found some convoluted reason to escape Chemistry. He didn't know how he did it with the state his brain was in but he managed to convince the teacher that his time would be better off assisting the Drama teacher in reprogramming the lighting board. If he had had to sit next to her in Chemistry… If Mycroft had to smell her shampoo and see his book on the desk next to her he might have died.

When Mummy's car pulled up to pick him up after the school day Mycroft practically sprinted to the passenger door and yanked it open with all the force he could muster. He got in and slammed the door behind him.

"Myc! Careful!" His mum chided him.

"Hi Mycie!" A voice came from the back of the car. Mycroft craned his neck to look in the back seats. Sherlock was there in his school uniform with a pirate hat in his lap. Eurus, she did not go to school, but she was absent all together. That wasn't good.

"Hi Sherlock." Mycroft responded to his brother's eager greeting. If Eurus were here he would have told the boy off for calling him Mycie. If Eurus was not here there was a good chance that he and Mummy had enough troubles for one day. Mycroft looked back at his mother.

"Where's Eurus?" He asked quietly, hoping Sherlock wouldn't hear him. Mummy smiled sadly and her eyes grew sorrowful. Ah. It was a bad day. So Eurus would have had a break down, and a call to the hospital was made. It would be at least a week until she was allowed back home. Mummy cleared her throat and blinked her eyes.

"Soo?" She sung, directed at Mycroft. The teenaged genius rose an eyebrow.

"So?" He muttered. Mummy grinned.

"How did it go with your friend?" She asked happily. "Did you dad pick out a good book?" Mycroft felt his face grow hot. He looked down at his hands in his lap. He tried to put a few words together.

"Ah… yes… ah… she…" He couldn't. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to control his brain.

"Ooooh." Mummy sung with laughter in her voice. "She kissed you?" Mycroft's head shot up and he looked at his mother in fear. If he didn't know how smart she was he'd be questioning how she worked it out so quickly. She was also his mother and had an unfair advantage in understanding his body language.

"Gross!" Sherlock moaned from the backseat. Mycroft sent a glare his way.

"That is so cute." Mummy was cooing. Now Mycroft was wishing he could just disappear out of existence. Not even home was going to be safe. "You're a little charmer, just like your Dad!"

" _Mummy!"_ Mycroft hissed.

"Eww!" Sherlock yelled. Mummy clicked her tongue and shook her head.

* * *

Mycroft was feeling more himself the next day. He'd gotten himself together and could think clearly. How he was feeling yesterday, that was nonsense! Whoever got themselves so worked up over a little kiss? Well, a lot of people did according to literature and history. Why, Helen of Troy was the face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Ilium… But not smart people! Smart people were better than that. Mycroft was better than that.

So regardless of what history might be telling him to do Mycroft moved on. After avoiding further questioning from his parents, he should have never told them, he went to school and had an average day. He hated his classmates, was bored with his work and completed it quickly, and spent a lot of time reading. Until Chemistry, that was.

Mycroft was in the middle of taking his textbook out of his schoolbag when she walked in and he immediately dropped it. It hit the floor with a heavy thud, earning eyes from other students. Mycroft scrambled to pick it up. His heart was racing and his breathing was erratic. Why? Because a pretty girl walked into the room? That was ridiculous? She wasn't even that pretty! He looked over to her approaching. Her chocolate curls, her deep blue eyes. That perfect noise, that cheeky grin…

 _Stop it!_

Mycroft snapped himself out of the stupor before Alice could catch him staring. He quickly whipped open the text book and began reading about organic chemistry. He heard the seat next to him pull out as Alice sat down. His whole body grew tense.

"Hi Mycroft." She greeted him chirpily. He looked over to see her pulling that book of poems out of her bag and put it on the desk next to her pencil case. Mycroft quickly looked back at his book. He cleared his throat.

"Yes, hello." He muttered. He scowled at himself inwardly for how he sounded.

"How was your night?" She asked, trying to start small talk.

"Fine." Mycroft answered shortly. It wasn't fine. There a dinner of his parents asking him questions and pretending everything was okay and then hours of looking after Sherlock as they went to the hospital to check on Eurus and get her settled. He wouldn't have told anyone that normally and he certainly wasn't going to poor his heart out to a girl who was making him sound like a moron.

"Oh." Alice pouted. She looked at the board, then she tapped on the desk, then she looked behind her at her group of friends. She whipped her head back around to face Mycroft and out of the corner of his eye Mycroft could see Alice's hair whip around and hit her gently in the face.

"I had a good night." She says, still trying to continue small talk. "Jamie and I read some of Byron's poems. They're amazing." Mycroft felt a heat rise from his neck into his cheek. His brain refused to come up with an answer for the girl. "Your dad has good taste." She tried again. Mycroft leant further forward, his long nose almost touching the pages of the book. "There was this one sonnet… Um…" He could just picture her tilting her head to the side and chewing on those pink lips. "Sonnet on Chillon! The line Eternal spirit of the chainless mind. That line reminded me of you." Mycroft's neck felt extremely itchy and his throat felt dry. He began scratching at it like clawing for breath as he continued trying to read. "Mycroft?" Alice asked. "Myc?" She asked again.

"Yes, I heard you!" He blurted out sharply. His heart was beating even faster now. "I'm reading!" Even glaring at the pages he could see as Alice leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh." She said coldly. "Fine."

When class started and the teacher began talking Mycroft's brain began to function again. Normality had set in and his body no longer felt like it was in a fight, flight, or freeze scenario. It was only then as he looked over to Alice that he could see the metaphorical dark cloud hovering over her and he realised he might have done something wrong.

 _What have you done?_ His heart yelled.

 _Saved you from a lot of problems in the future._ His brained answered.

* * *

It took a week for Mycroft to get over the whole kiss on the cheek thing. A whole week before he could look at Alice and not feeling like he was falling into one hundred thousand little pieces right in front of her. He took one of those school days off to go to the mental hospital with his mother to visit his sister so that made it easier. Only four school days of looking like an idiot and begin able to form complete sentences in front of the girl.

But it seemed by the time Mycroft was ready to talk to Alice again she was not prepared to talk to him. That dark cloud had frozen over into a complete cold shoulder, and Mycroft should know, he liked to think he was an expert at acting cold. Apparently he wasn't the only one not meeting eye contact as she had somewhere along the lines stopped looking at him either. It ripped his gut apart and his heart began flinging accusations and insults at his brain. In fact his brain was even feeling like it might, just maybe, be a little bit, tiny bit guilty.

Mycroft didn't attempt to talk to her in Chemistry. The proximity was too close, there could be great collateral damage. He was safer attempting in English where he didn't actually sit next to her.

"Hello." He said with a little nod as he walked past her desk to sit at his behind her. Alice scoffed.

"The genius is talking to me again." She said to her blonde friend next to her. It was said loud enough on purpose so he could hear.

"Nice of him to grace you with his acknowledgement." Her friend answered just as sarcastically. Mycroft rolled his eyes at the friend but that guilt in the back of his mind only increased. Alice was like the only friend Mycroft had had outside of the family… well… ever. She was smart for an average person and she was funny and light. She counteracted his doom and gloom and met his sass with equal measures. He didn't want to lose her. It was that kiss. That kiss was the problem! This is why the always warned against office romances. It should apply to schools, too!

* * *

The next day he tried in Chemistry again. They were doing a worksheet. Correction; the class was doing a worksheet. Mycroft had already finished. Their teacher had told him to do the practice questions in the book. Mycroft put his pen and tried to think about something to talk about.

"Did I ever tell you my sister can answer these questions and rarely make an error?" He said. Alice didn't respond. "She's eight years younger than me but she can answer them at the same speed it takes my mother to answer them."

"Well _some of us_ need to focus on our work." Alice barked, widening her eyes in annoyance.

"Pardon me for sharing an interesting anecdote." Mycroft muttered, turning back to his book and picking up his pen.

"Yeah, doesn't feel great, does it smarty-pants?" Alice whispered. Mycroft's pen froze just above the page as he let Alice's words sink in.

* * *

It was Friday when they next spoke. The bell had rung for the end of day. Mycroft was walking towards the carpark when he felt a hand grasp him arm. It yanked on him, pulling him backwards. It was Alice. At a fast pace Alice walked Mycroft behind the drama building.

Alice dropped her bag to the ground and folded her arms across her chest. Her eyes were pretty when full of fire. She looked lovely and dangerous. That was an attractive combinations. Mycroft's throat refused to let air into his body once more and his heart skipped a beat.

"What's your problem!?" She asked in an accusatory manner. She stepped forward right into his personal space. He hated people in his space but from hear he could smell not only her shampoo but her body wash.

"What?" Mycroft spluttered. He shook his head to try and get his body to connect to his brain again. "Excuse me, you are the one who has been ignoring me all week." He replied.

"Yeah! But only after _you_ acted like a jerk." She poked him in the chest. Mycroft hated that. He hated his space being intruded upon and he hated being touched like that. He looked at her in annoyance.

"I wasn't being mean." He pushed her finger away from his chest. "You were being mean, I simply couldn't talk!" Alice stepped closer, looking right up at Mycroft.

"And couldn't look at me?" She interrogated

"Yes!" Mycroft replied in an exasperated heavy sigh.

"Why?" Alice asked. "What could have happened between you giving me that book and school to make you hate me?"

"Nothing!"

"Then what was it!?"

Mycroft couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't form words again. Here she was looking so lovely and asking him why he hadn't been able to look at her? How can he answer why he couldn't speak when it made him unable to speak? How could he explain how that kiss had made him feel? How his cheek never stopped tingling and how his heart created its own rhythm when he thought about it?

Mycroft took Alice's arm and pulled her in the final centimetre that separated them. It was hastily and chaste but Mycroft kissed Alice on those soft pink lips. She stiffened at first as his lips touched hers but Mycroft felt quite quickly as her body loosened and she leaned into it. It was better than that other kiss. The tingles were so much better and the way all the hairs on his neck and arms stood up, it was like electricity.

It was too much for the solitary teenager. As quickly as he began the kiss he ended it. He let go of Alice, blinked at the floor a few times, and began walking away like he had somewhere important to be.

"Myc!" Alice called out. Mycroft stopped. He took a shaky breath and turned around to face the new girl.

"I – uh…" Now she too was at a loss for words. "See you Monday?" She asked, smiling shyly. Mycroft's brows furrowed and he nodded.

"Of course." He replied. Alice's smile widened and she looked at the ground while tucking a curl behind her ear. "See you then." She laughed a little. Maybe even giggled. Giggled? Alice Clarke had never giggled so far at her time in this school.

"I…" Mycroft looked behind him and then back at Alice. "Yes. See you… then." Alice hid her face and laughed silently as she turned around to pick up her bag.

It was clear that Alice was feeling it now too. Whatever it was she had done to him by kissing him on the cheek he had returned to her by kissing her on the lips. Here they were unable to actually communicate like idiots. She was all smiles and he was all frowns. What did this mean for them? What happened now?

Mycroft might have further questions for his father…

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **How was it? Okay? I hope it didn't ruin the original. It's always hard to come back to the teenaged mindset when I'm usually writing the adult versions. Thank you for spending time reading this. I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if you like the idea of occasional new chapters.**


	3. Hypothesis Testing

**Author's Note:** **The whim hit me to write a third chapter tonight! I mean I've been thinking about it since I posted the second but like I said, whenever time and motivation lined up I would work on this. So here it is! A third chapter. I wasn't going to do this unless it was just right for the tone and style of the story and I think this is. Please read, review, and enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer:** **Clearly I don't own Sherlock. The show is the baby of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, while Sherlock Holmes itself is the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle.**

* * *

"What do I do now?" Mycroft asked in a state of nervous panic. He was standing in front of his father's desk in the study, or rather the library room his father used when he had to bring work home with him. Usually it was marking from the university classes he taught. Mycroft had shut the door to ensure Mummy wouldn't want in and interject with her coos and awes. This was serious and only Father would take him serious.

"About what?" Father laughed, his lips pulling into a wide smile as he looked at his eldest son over his glasses. Or maybe he wasn't going to take him serious.

"About Alice!" Mycroft hissed. He felt on edge and nervous just saying her name out loud in this house.

Mycroft had been in a good mood initially after his rendezvous if not just a tad confused as to what the next step would be. That's what his fast mind focused on. Everything else was resolved, what now? So what? They liked each other. Good. But what did that mean? Were they supposed to be like all those annoying kids at school who danced around each other with giggles and small touches for months before they lost interest in each other? Or would they be one of those who ended up never leaving each other's space so that both their sets of friends got sick of them. Well, that was easy for Mycroft, he had no friends, and that James boy liked them both so he would be fine… But Alice had plenty of friends. Everyone wanted to know the new girl, her mystique was only now beginning to wear off.

"Mycie," Siger was still kind of laughing as he removed his glasses. Mycroft rolled his eyes dramatically at the hated nickname his parents called him. "You do whatever you would normally do with a girl… or boy you like." Siger stuttered a little trying to choose his wording.

"I don't know." Mycroft scowled. "I've never liked a person before, not even a little bit. I never wanted to." He looked down at his feet before he could see the weird mixture of sympathy and confusion his father would give him. "That's why I've come to you!" Mycroft looked back up, pulling a face at his father. "You got a woman to marry you, and not an ordinary one at that. What do I do?" Siger's face was bright. An almost embarrassed smile radiated off his face. Some of that smile had to be because his genius teenaged son had deemed him an expert in something enough to come asking for advice.

"It's not some formula your mother can teach you, Myc." Siger folded his fingers together and rested his chin on his joined hands. "You ask her out and see where it goes. And you're just a kid so don't expect it to go perfectly. Just because you're smart doesn't mean you can plan for everything. Your mother once had a date planned from minute to minute and it sits on record as our worst date." If it was their worst date then why was he smiling about it? Yet Father was missing the point entirely.

"That's why I'm here," The teenager sighed. "I don't how to ask her out or even what to do." Siger lowered his arms to the desk. He shrugged.

"You're into films, son, a movie and a meal is a good light date for teenagers. Means parents can pick you up and drop you off." There was a sparkle in his eye similar to what Sherlock or Eurus got when they came up with a bad idea. Mycroft probably got it too but you don't see one's own expressions.

"So what then, father, hmm?" Mycroft folded his arms across his chest. "I walk up to her on Monday and say what? Do you like the cinemas? Do you want to go sit awkwardly next to me in silence for the next two hours?" Siger chuckles. "It's not funny, Dad!" Mycroft whined. Siger stopped laughing but he was still smiling.

"You're jumping to doomsday probabilities." Father said to Mycroft in a soothing voice.

"It's good to plan for the worst case scenarios. If we did that more often we might have had a better plan of attack when the house…" Mycroft trailed off. Don't bring up bad things Eurus almost did when she's not well and back in the hospital. It only made Mummy and father sad and made Mycroft feel like he failed.

"You'll live a happier life if you do it less." Siger fobbed it off easier than expected. There was another kid to help instead of sulking about something they can't change. "She's a reader so ask her what genres she likes, then go into films and plays you've seen, _then_ ask her if maybe she'd want to go to a film with you."

A pause.

Mycroft frowned.

"I still don't like it." Mycroft muttered. "What do I do if she says no?"

"You'll be better at it next time." Father replied. Mycroft scoffed. " _And_ she won't say no." He added. "You made her giggle, yes?" Mycroft nodded. Siger nodded. "She's not going to say no." Feeling a wave of stress hit him, Mycroft ran his hands through his hair.

"This is no absolute outcome." He breathed. "How can I do this knowing all the risks?"

"Sometimes somethings are worth the risk, son." Father replied warmly and gently. "You've just got to go for the things that make you happy."

Damn it, he was right. But that's why Mycroft had come here in the first place, for his father to convince him into doing what he wanted to do anyway.

Was the risk worth it? There was only one way to find out.

* * *

Mycroft was prepared on Monday in Chemistry. He was all set to ask Alice out. He had his father's prompt ready to be deployed at any moment. He was going to do this and get it over and done with. His confidence faltered as Alice entered the room. She came and smiled at him with the shy smile she had given him after he kissed her and his knees shook a little bit in his stool. But it was not enough to turn him off. They had three minutes before the teacher began the lesson, that was plenty of time.

He cleared his throat and looked down at the notebook in front of him. How does one begin conversations again? How did you start small talk? Bloody hell, how did people do this all the time? How did he even usually function in society? Mycroft took a deep breath, and counted to three to try and silent his overactive mind.

"Books…" He sputtered out. Alice looked over with faint hints of confusion itching at her brow. Well he sounded stupid but at least he had begun talking. "I noticed you read a vast variety of books." He managed to sound more like himself if not just a bit guarded. "Are there any genres you don't enjoy?" Alice bit her bottom lip and hummed thoughtfully. Mycroft's lungs found it harder to exhale for a second.

"No." She said, shaking her head and making those chocolate curls twirl. "I'll give pretty much anything a chance." She gave him a little lopsided smirk. Mycroft's mouth twitched into something of a smirk in response. "What about you?" She asked. Mycroft blinked.

"Genres?" He stuttered a little. Alice nodded. "I don't read fiction as much as I once did but I'll also read anything. It's a good look into people's minds and how they function. It's especially intriguing when you're…"

"Different?" Alice finished Mycroft's sentence.

"Yes." He nodded.

"You're just smart. You're not as weird as you think you are." She teased him. Mycroft liked it. He liked it very much.

What was he doing?

Oh! Right!

"Does your openness translate into your consumption of other forms of media?" Was it just him or did he sound even more pompous when he was nervous? Did Mummy do this too? Alice frowned and laughed at his wording but she nodded a few times with that cute smile of hers on her lips. It made Mycroft's chest ache and his throat dry.

"Definitely." She said. "What about you?"

"Hmmm?" He'd gotten lost looking at her for a second.

"Do you like to watch pretty much anything too?" She asked. Mycroft frowned down at his notebook.

"Not entirely…" He trailed off. It was true he was far fussier with films than with books but what a way to say so. Way to shut a conversation down.

"Oh." Alice replied.

Mycroft knew he should keep the moment going but all that _Alice_ was making his chest ache and he couldn't find the right words anymore.

* * *

"How did it go?" Father stuck his head through Mycroft's bedroom door while he was studying. "Did you ask her?" He asked his son. Mycroft glared at his book.

"No." He replied like his book had just insulted him. "I failed miserable."

"Oh, Myc."

"Father, please, I'm trying to study."

* * *

The next day they had English before Chemistry and that was a mistake. Mycroft arrived after Alice and her friends had gotten there. As he walked into the room Alice and her best friends were in the middle of laughing at whoever knows what. Seeing her overcome with happiness like that as opposed to the usual naughty smirk made it impossible to breathe again. Then when he walked past her desk her face softened as she waved. It had stung his chest so hard he considered it possible that he hadn't avoided heart issues by losing weight after all.

After her almost killing him there was no way he was going to attempt to ask her out again today.

* * *

Mycroft walked into his father's office.

"Well?" Siger asked, eyes bright, eyebrows raised high.

"I've worked it out." Mycroft sneered. "It's her face." His father frowned and leaned back in his chair.

"Her face?" He asked.

"Every time she smiles and every time she looks at me with those annoying blue eyes I am unable to speak." He clenched his hands into fists and unclenched. "But if I stare at my desk I look like a fool!" Sigher said nothing. A knowing expression on his face he leant down and took something out of his briefcase. He held it out for Mycroft to take.

"I thought you might need some extra help." Mycroft took the piece of paper.

A flyer for a foreign film festival?

* * *

The flyer lay on the desk at Chemistry. Its colourful side facing up staring at Mycroft as he leaned over it. This was his father's help? This? It wasn't even a proper film festival. If it was he might consider going but not with Alice. Alice was a normal teenager – she'd rather be anywhere else. No this is the type of thing Mycroft was doomed to go to with Mummy or one of his siblings when they got old enough to appreciate them.

"What's that?" The voice to Mycroft's side indicated that Alice had entered the room and sat down while Mycroft contemplated this flyer. He clicked his tongue and hummed. He used his long fingers to slide the flyer across the desk.

"The student guild at my father's university is hold a foreign film festival." Mycroft explained in a bored tone. "I commend them on their efforts but two French films, one German film, and a Swedish documentary does not a festival make."

"I don't know…" Alice said in a light singsong voice. She was reading the flyer carefully. "It's kind of cool." Her head popped up to look at Mycroft. Her eyes were particularly lovely today. "Did you know that French is one of my subjects here at school?" She asked, her expression clearly showing how proud she was of herself. Mycroft's eyebrows peaked and he nodded, impressed.

"Really?" He hummed. "My mother's family is French," He told Alice. She looked excited to hear this. "So naturally it was the first language my siblings and I learnt after English." Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Naturally." She teases him with that wry smile that makes her nose crinkle.

"What can I say?" He quirked a single eyebrow and Alice laughed. It made his chest hurt again and he both hated and loved that.

"So you thinking of going?" Alice asked.

"I don't know… maybe." Mycroft replied.

 _Maybe?_ He mentally screamed at himself. _Maybe? You dolt. You can save this by saying only if someone comes with you. You can turn this around if you keep talking quickly and be smart about it._

Nothing was said for thirty seconds.

Alice picked up the flyer.

"Do you mind if I keep this?" She asked. Mycroft's brain screamed.

"Sure." He replied.

 _Congratulations, Mycroft. Now she is going to ask someone to go with her. Your father will be so proud._

* * *

"Myc?"

"Don't talk to me."

Mycroft shut his bedroom door before his father could talk anymore.

* * *

It was on the way to Maths that Mycroft walked past Alice. She was heading in another direction, maybe even to French, so they simply saw each other in a fleeting moment. They'd see each other in last period today. Mycroft quirked an eyebrow at her and she crinkled her nose. It was instead of just smiling at each other the way everyone else did. Alice laughed and Mycroft silently enjoyed it.

Then Alice stopped. She said something to her friend then suddenly ran to catch up to Mycroft. Luckily he noticed so he had stopped walking and waited for the girl to reach him.

"Hello…" It came out as more of a question than a greeting as Mycroft wondered what Alice needed right this very moment.

"So… ah…" Alice tried to talk while catching her breath. She put down her bag and pulled up a folded piece of paper. "About this." She unfolded it to reveal the flyer for the film festival. "I kind of want to go see one of those French films for, you know, practice." She was still a little out of breath and her face was flushed as she tried to smile bashfully. Mycroft nodded. "So, um, do you want to go to one with me?" She asked, her skin turning even rosier as she did.

What?

Oh.

 _Oh!_

Mycroft's brain caught up, causing his heart to start going in double time.

"Oh!" He repeated the only thought his brain was churning out at the moment. He scratched at his eyebrow and looked down. "Yes, absolutely." He stuttered looking back up. "I, I'll ask my family if they're familiar with the films to see which one is the best one and come to you with more information." His brain was working now and he was so thankful. Alice exhaled a hard breath and relief flashed through her eyes.

"Okay." She sung. His father had said a movie and a meal, not just a movie. This needed to be just that little bit more than sitting awkwardly together for a few hours.

"And perhaps we could find some decent lunch on campus beforehand?" Mycroft cringed inwardly at himself. He sounded pathetic. If Alice noticed she didn't care, he smile grew.

"I'd like that!" She replied.

"Good." Mycroft answered.

"Okay!" Alice laughed uneasily. Mycroft looked around and nodded a few times.

They stood there for at least a minute.

"We should get to class." Mycroft announced.

"Oh!" Alice jumped a little. "Yeah!" She looked back at her friend who was surprisingly waiting very patiently. Alice waved to her. She turned back to Mycroft. "See you in class later."

"Bye." He answered.

This time Alice waved at him as she began walking towards her friend. Mycroft held his hand up still as his wave back.

Well, he survived and it wasn't the worst case scenario.

Siger Holmes might not be a genius and he certainly wasn't easy to talk to about science and math but apparently he knew people.

* * *

"Mycroft." Mycroft's father found his eldest son when he got home from work. He hadn't even put down his coat or seen his wife yet. "Please tell me progress was made today." He was interested, in fact he looked like he really truly cared. Mycroft closed the book he was studying to give his father his full attention.

"Father," He said in the most serious tone he could muster. "Never have I loved you more than I do today." The proud and loving expression that came onto Siger's face would stay with Mycroft forever.

"I told you she liked you." He said.

"Well now we have evidence." Mycroft replied.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **Okay? Good? Didn't ruin the whole thing? I had some fun planning this one and I really hope you all think it's okay. Thanks for reading! Let me know if you liked it so I can continue with occasional chapters.**


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